Hi there puregenius

There is only one word with any relevance here I'm afraid....

NO

Do not do it. Contrast baths used to be recommended for CRPS back in the dark ages of the disease when not much information was being shared between doctors and therapists. It has been shown many times to cause spread and worsening of symptoms, and to be honest, you have to be wary of how up-to-date these people's knowledge is.

Extremes of temperature cause a lot of pain anyway, and the important thing with CRPS is to make sure your body still experiences a range of temperatures and sensations, but not to exacerbate the pain cycle that has already gone haywire in your brain and is causing a lot of the problems. It's why ice is such a massive NO as well...anywhere on your body.

Desensitisation exercises (start by stroking the affected area with a soft cloth regularly, gradually work up to more coarse materials) are a great idea and will help with your tolerances to movement and activity. Gentle exercises are also a good plan, not just the affected limb, but your whole body.

This is why it's so important to read up as much as you can about this disease - what is safe to do, and what is not safe to try. Many doctors and other medics just cannot know all the details of the rarer conditions, and few keep up with the more recent discoveries and thinking.

Please don't even let them 'try' it. You need to be your best advocate with CRPS. Read the good sites like RSDhope and the uk NHS site, also the Wikipedia page on CRPS. Make a few notes to carry round with you, and research any planned treatment before it starts to make sure it is a good idea. Sadly, when it comes to CRPS, you cannot blindly trust all medics. There are some very good ones out there, but far more who either pretend to know more than they do, or who just don't care enough. Protect yourself.

Good luck and I'm sorry you have this. It does get easier to manage though, and you will get more used to both the physical and mental challenges it throws at you. Honest

Bram.